


Could I Rest Here For Awhile?

by MsMio



Category: Teen Titans - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2020-10-29 19:11:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20801531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsMio/pseuds/MsMio
Summary: The Titans never hesitate to take in meta-humans who show a willingness to be superheroes, it was a routine at this point. However, a young woman with a simple, eyebrow raising story, changes that routine a little bit. Unseen demons claw at the young woman's ankles and mind; and a certain half-demon finds herself soothing and shooing them away.





	1. A Wayward Beast

_"And in the latest news, last night another robbery was stopped by an unknown vigilante that has been loose within the city for the past month. Though the vigilante hasn't shown any signs of being another upcoming villain, the chief of police and the leader of the Titans would like to remind everyone that this vigilante is to be avoided at all costs. Eyewitnesses report that this person, is not a person at all; most descriptions paint the image of a hulking creature. If you see this vigilante at all, please report to-"_

The screen suddenly cuts out with a loud beeping, alerting the two occupants of the room to an incoming call. Richard hops up from the couch, throwing aside his newspaper and then rushs for the computer; with a few clicks the screen turns from black to the aged face of the chief of police.

"Captain Anderson, good morning, ma'am."

Anderson was a woman just coming into her fifties, grey strips mixing in with her black hair, a slight smile making the wrinkles around her mouth and eyes more pronounced. "Nightwing, sorry for calling so early in the morning, but I need a bit of a favor."

Richard nods his understanding. "Of course, what do you need?"

"We had been called out for a mugging about two hours ago. When my men got to the scene they found a man beaten unconscious with a gun in hand, and a young woman sitting on the sidewalk waiting for them. This young lady is clearly a meta-human, and when my men arrested her, she went calmly and quietly, and since she was acting in self-defense against an armed mugger, she isn't in any real trouble."

Anderson glances over her shoulder for a moment before looking back. "She seems like a good kid, very polite and willing to listen to us, but she won't really talk to us. I thought maybe she'd be more open with you guys."

"You want us to question her?" Richard frowns a little.

Anderson sighs softly. "Nothing serious, I just want to know her name and where she's been living. Her clothing doesn't look bad, but I think she might be homeless."

"Give us a few minutes to wake the rest of the team and let them know what's going on before we head down to the station." At this point Raven floats up to Richard's side.

Anderson's eyes widen a bit. "Oh! Raven, I'm sorry I didn't know you were in the room. Good morning."

Raven gives a slight and silent nod to Anderson, and then she turns toward Richard. "I'll wake the others," she said before sinking downward through a dark portal on the floor.

"Heh, I don't think I'll ever get used to that." Anderson said as she eyes the spot where Raven had been standing. "So I guess I'll be expecting your team in a few minutes then?"

Richard shakes his head. "Just Raven and me, the rest of the team needs to be here just in case any trouble happens while we're out."

Anderson nods. "Alright then, I'll make sure everyone knows you're coming."

The screen cuts to black; Richard waits in front of the huge TV screen for his teammates, which doesn't take too long. Raven comes back in with Kori floating in behind her, Victor and Garfield stumbling in after them. Raven takes up her place beside Richard while the rest of the team take seats on the couch.

"Dude, it's the butt crack of dawn, why did you wake us up?" Garfield grumbles before letting out a jaw cracking yawn.

"Raven and I are heading down to the station, they've got a meta-human who's being pretty quiet about herself." Richard turns his attention onto Victor. "I'm sure nothing major will happen while we're gone, but just in case you're in charge until we get back."

Victor gives Richard a mock salute. "We'll hold down the fort. Have the chief send over a file of this girl once you're all done."

Richard nods and then turns toward Raven. "Ready to go?"

Raven says nothing as their shadows stretch upward and around them, the bugling black mass shifts itself into the familiar form of a prey of bird with two glowing eyes of white; with one silent flap of its wings the giant raven flies through the ceiling of the common room. Three teammates sit there for a few moments before Victor sighs and stands up from the couch.

"Well, it seems we're having an early start, who wants some breakfast?"

* * *

In her twenty years of working apart of the JCPD, Captain Willow Anderson has seen a lot of strange things from the many meta-humans that pass through the streets, but there was one thing that still startled her these past few years. A dark mass, that appeared to be a large raven, suddenly flew into her office from the ground, making her jolt away from her desk. The bird stares at her for a moment before shrinking in size, the bird splits into two shadowy figures, and then the darkness peels away to reveal Nightwing and Raven standing there.

Willow lets out a sigh as she brings up a hand and rubs at the bridge of her nose. "Nightwing, Raven."

"Hello Captain Anderson," Nightwing grins slightly, "I hope our sudden arrival didn't startle you."

"Ha ha. I bet you kids get a kick out of that." Willow stands up from her chair. "Thank you again for coming down on such short notice, I'll show you to our guest."

Willow rounds around her desk and heads out of her office, Nightwing and Raven following right after her. "Have you gotten anything out of her since calling us?" Nightwing asks.

"No, but after a lot of pressing from Officer Fox we took her finger prints, though I don't know how useful that'll be since some meta-human can shape-shift."

"You think that's her powers?"

Willow shrugs her shoulders, leading the two Titans through the station toward the back where the interrogation rooms are at. "Can't say, she looks...tough. My guess is super strength."

Nightwing hums lowly, Willow just barely catching the noise. "Why call us down when you could just use a photo and her prints?"

"I hate to say this, but most cities don't keep a good record of their meta-human citizens; you can't track down a meta-human's identity from prints or photos alone. Another reason why I didn't bother with getting her prints in the first place."

"I find that hard to be true." Nightwing comes up to walk beside Willow. "Gotham has a well kept system for their meta-humans, the same with Jump."

"I'm not talking about places like Gotham and Jump, who have so many meta-humans that it's important to keep an eye on them. I'm talking about places like Texas, Ohio, New Mexico-where a meta-human who has gone missing doesn't get reported until you find the body."

Nightwing falls silent, and Willow can't help but feel a bit satisfied by that; Willow stops when they come close to a door. "Alright, she's waiting inside," Willow said pointing toward the door. "I don't need a lot; her name, where she's been living, how long she's been in Jump. And don't try to force it out of her."

* * *

Raven almost stilled in the air when she gets her first look at the young woman; her short, black hair and dark brown skin was normal enough, but her gold eyes and abnormal size gives away the fact she's not normal at all. A bright blue jacket clings tightly to the young woman's large frame, looking like she could simply rip it to pieces just by flexing. The young woman's intense stare tracks Raven's movements until Raven gets to the back corner of the room, she now turns her gaze onto Richard.

"I thought I wasn't in trouble." Her voice is a surprisingly soft, low rumble.

Richard sits down across from the woman. "You're not. I'm guessing you already know who we are?"

The young woman nods slightly. "It's kinda hard not to know after living here for awhile...You Titans do good work, if not a bit messy."

Richard's expression remains blank, but Raven picks up his faint amusement, and the young woman's mirth and honesty. "Thank you. So, you've been living here awhile, how long exactly?" Richard asks.

The young woman sighs, her mirth disappearing into exhaustion. "Listen, I get it, cities like Jump gotta keep an eye on the meta-humans that live around these parts, but I'm not staying long. I'll be here for a month or two more and then I'll move on."

"Why? Don't like the city?"

The young woman rolls her bright eyes. "No, I like this city enough, it's better than most of the places I've been to these last few years; but I get restless, I don't like staying in one place for too long, just enough to make some money before moving on."

"Alright, so you've been here a few months making money, where have you been staying?" Richard rests his forearms on top of the table with his hands folded together.

"Nowhere really, couch surf a bit, but mainly I find a nice bench to sleep on in the park."

Richard glances at Raven, and Raven gives a slight nod. "Alright, are you willing to give us your name?"

The young woman raises an eyebrow. "You don't already got it? My prints were taken, I figured the cops had found me by now...Okay then." She holds out her hand toward Richard. "Blake Wayward."

Richard glances at Raven again as he shakes Blake's hand, Raven gave him another slight nod. "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Wayward. So you are a registered meta-human, from where?"

"Gotham, lived there a few years and then...well, it's Gotham, and I'm a meta-human, so I got out of there before I caught the eyes of any gangs or supervillains." Blake takes her hand away from Richard's.

Richard nods his understanding, but his eyes are focused on Raven, who shakes her head no. "I see. We're almost done here, Ms. Wayward. This is for my own curiosity, but what are your powers exactly?"

"I can...I can change into creatures." Richard notes the way Blake's tone hardens a bit, her shoulders tensing a bit.

"...Ms. Wayward, are you the rogue vigilante that's been active for the past month?"

Blake lets out a small snort. "I should have seen this coming...Yeah, yeah it was me, but I wasn't trying to play hero."

Richard raises an eyebrow. "Really? Then why did you stop those robberies?"

"I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The first time it happened I was just passing by the jewelry store when the robbers were exiting; I was a witness so they didn't even think twice to shoot at me, I acted in self-defense. After that it seems I'm always around when some idiot decides to wave around a fucking gun."

Richard's brow furrows, but he sees Raven nod her head. "You've got some bad luck; however, we can't give you a free pass on that. Now you were defending yourself from armed humans, but you're still a meta-human, and you beat up those men and women pretty badly; you left one in a coma. If you had just knocked them out it would be a different story, but you didn't and now you have to pay for those consequences."

Blake sighs heavily, bowing her head down in acceptance. "So, what? I'm actually going to jail?"

Raven frowns as she senses Richard's mind go into a frenzy. _'Richard? What are you planning?'_

_'She's been telling us the truth so far, expect for where she's from, but she's a good person, right?'_

Raven's brow furrows. _'Yes, she holds no ill-will towards us, or anyone in this building...Richard, please tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing.'_

"Ms. Wayward...Blake, how about we give you a different option?"

Blake's nose wrinkles up and she tilts her head slightly. "What do you have in mind?"

Richard leans forward a little over the table. "I can get you placed under our care, and you can serve the city by being a temporary Titan."

"You can do that?" Blake's eyes widen, and relief pours off of her in waves.

"I can." Richard stands up from the table. "Give us a few minutes to speak with Captain Anderson, that is if you want to be a superhero for a bit."

Blake nods feverishly. "Please, I really don't want to go to jail."

Richard cracks a small smirk. "Alright then, we'll be back in a few moments."

* * *

Blake stumbles a bit when the darkness is suddenly pulled away from her, blinding her and leaving knots in her gut. She blinks a few times, but her sight can barely recover before an ear-piercing squeal assaults her sensitive hearing; and the dozen of scents within the room also wasn't helping her growing headache.

"Whoa there, Starfire, give her a moment." Nightwing's voice spoke up from her left side.

Blake's vision clears and before her was the rest of the Titans. "Oh, um...hello."

"Hello new friend!" Starfire rockets forward, but stops just when she was about to ram into Blake. "I'm Starfire and it is so wonderful to meet you!"

Blake blinks a few times up at Starfire. "...I'm Blake, it's nice to meet you too."

Blake knew them, all of them, of course she did; she hadn't been lying before to Nightwing, it was hard not to know the Titans after you spend a bit of time in Jump City. Starfire stood out with her bright colors and even brighter personality, her scent was an odd mix-fruity and spices, but there was something unfamiliar-alien. Blake can tell she's gonna like Starfire, a lot. She closes the gap and surprises not only the others, but Starfire too, with a hug. Blake then grunts as she finds herself being wrapped up in strong arms that squeeze the air out of her lungs.

"Whoa! Let her go before you crush her, Star!"

Blake breathes in as those strong arms quickly disappear. "I'm sorry," Starfire said, "but no one has ever hugged me first! Usually I am the one who hugs."

"Ah, don't worry about it, I don't mind."

Blake turns her attention to Cyborg, and she grins a bit when she finds she has to look down at him; Cyborg is a big guy, but even he couldn't match Blake's towering height. His scent wasn't surprising, a mix of oil and metallic, though she also picked up the faintest hints of smoked meat. Blake holds out her hand to him, and she grins even more when he takes her hand with a strong grip.

"Cyborg, yeah? Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Blake. We sticking with hero names, Nightwing, or can we share our real names?" Cyborg asks Nightwing as he lets go of Blake's hand.

Nightwing opens his mouth to answer, but Blake holds up a hand, stopping him. "Eh, don't worry about it, secret identities are secret for a reason, can't expect a bunch of heroes to share them with a complete stranger just because she's suddenly working with you."

Blake smirks a little when she sees the surprise on Nightwing's face. She turns toward the last Titan, and she blinks a few times seeing him staring at her with narrowed eyes and sniffing the air. Well, she shouldn't be surprised, Changeling was a lot like her; so she grins and simply asks. "What do I smell like?"

Changeling jolts a bit, but recovers quickly and grins sheepishly up at Blake. "Sorry dude, didn't mean to be weird or anything."

"It's okay, I was doing the same." Blake taps her nose with a slight smirk. "I got heighten senses too."

"Whoa dude, seriously?! That's awesome!" Changeling perks up instantly. "So like, what's your powers then? You look pretty tough, are you like super human, or something like that?"

"Nah, I am like you, I can change into creatures."

Changeling lights up even brighter his smile stretching from ear to ear. "That's wicked! Dude, we gotta spar, I've never been up against another shape-shifter before, it's not a common meta-gene!"

Raven frowns when she feels a sudden, dark change to Blake's mood, but Blake's smile doesn't falter. "Yeah, it's a rare power to be born with. But yeah, we can spar sometime, but let me settle in first, okay?"

"Totally dude! So, do you like video games?"

And just like that it was as if Blake had been apart of the team for years, easily falling into a lively conversation with Changeling and Cyborg as the two boys set up one of the gaming consoles. Blake's dark mood quickly went away, joy coming back full force as she sat down between the boys on the couch; it was a bit odd, since when even sitting Blake towered over Cyborg and Changeling. Raven turns toward Richard, and feeling him being pleased with the situation, she moved into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea.

Kori floats beside Raven, doing a small spin in the air. "Sister Raven, isn't this great? We have not had a new member in quite some time."

A kettle surrounded in her soul-self is placed on the stove top just as one of the burners were turned on. "She isn't a permanent member, Star, she's only going to be here for two months."

That knocks the wind right out of Kori's sails, the alien suddenly dropping out of the air and landing on her feet with a heavy thud. "Truly? Can she not stay longer? Friend Blake seems like a wonderful person!"

Raven sighs, she turns toward Kori, the shadows of her hood melting away to fully reveal her face to her best friend. "It's up to Blake if she wants to stay after she has worked off her community service, but she has made it clear that she doesn't like to stay in one place for long."

"I see, so it is her desire to not stay long...Very well, I will simply then enjoy what time we have with our new friend!"

A small smile curls up the corner of Raven's mouth. "That sounds like a good idea, Kori. Maybe you should take her to the mall, she doesn't have much clothing."

Kori gasps and then squeals, she jumps into the air and stays there. "A glorious idea, Sister Raven! We shall make tomorrow a night for the girls and get to know our new friend, does that not sound wonderful?" Raven raises an eyebrow, and Kori quickly catches onto the look the half-demon was giving her. "That is, of course, if you wish to accompany us."

"...Sure, I've been meaning to pick up some new books."

Kori's squeal is almost ear piercing, and Raven is sure that if Kori had less control over her flying, she would have rocketed up into the ceiling. "We'll have so much fun, I promise!"

Raven rolls her eyes, but there is a fondness to her small smile. "I'm sure we will."

Raven picked up on the new present before they even got within five feet of the kitchen. Raven's face disappears into the shadows of her hood just as Blake walks into the doorway. The large woman hesitates fully entering the kitchen, her eyes jumping between Starfire and Raven.

"Uh, hey, Changeling said it was alright if I grabbed something to eat...is that-"

"Of course!" Blake flinches at Starfire's loud shout, but she smiles nonetheless at the alien. "Would you like for me to make you something, Friend Blake?"

Blake's eyes widen a bit. "Thanks, but no thank you, I prefer to make my own food." Blake finally steps into the kitchen and beelines toward the fridge.

"I understand, please, enjoy as much as you want, Friend Blake! You're apart of the team, even if it is only for a small time." Starfire flies over to the doorway. "I shall be joining the boys in the common room, and I cannot wait to get to know you more, Friend Blake!"

"Uh yeah, I'm..." Blake trails off when Starfire shoots out of the kitchen, "...excited to talk with you too..."

Blake jolts a bit when the kettle lets out a sharp whistle. She looks toward the stove and watches as the burner it turned off by a hand made up of darkness. The kettle floats up and over to a waiting mug and fills it; Raven handpicks a tea, all the while trying to ignore Blake's interested stare. It isn't until Blake clears her throat that Raven turns and meets her golden gaze.

"Um, is it alright if I have some tea too?"

For such a large and intimidating woman, Blake was surprisingly gentle and meek. Raven tries to imagine Kori, or Wonder Woman-two women who were as intimidating as Blake, acting like the large woman; Raven just barely kept down a snort at the ridiculous mental image. Not that Raven was judging Blake negatively for these traits, they were just unexpected; Raven has met many different kinds of female superheroes throughout the years, but all of them were so confident and sure of themselves. It was kind of...nice, to meet such an imposing woman who spoke with such a soft voice.

"Sure, you'll be the only other person who drinks it," Raven said as she looks away and picks up her mug.

Blake steps over to the stove, and Raven had to step back to make room for her. Blake picks out a bright yellow mug with a smiling sun on it, a gift from Starfire to Raven, and goes about making herself a cup of tea; Raven raises an eyebrow when she sees Blake grab a mint tea. Blake sets her mug aside and goes back to finding herself something to eat.

"Thank you, Raven, I'll try not to drink too much of your tea," Blake said as she grabs a carton of eggs.

"Do you prefer to drink tea then?"

Blake nods as she searches around for a pan. "Yeah, I never liked soda, too sugary for me."

Raven hums lowly. "Then we'll get some for you...What kind do you like?"

"Uh...don't know, I like mint, chai is nice too." Blake shrugs her shoulders.

Raven opens her mouth, but a shout from the common room cuts in. "Yo Blake! What's taking ya so long?"

Blake pauses in her search for a pan and looks toward the doorway. "I'm gonna be a few minutes, you and Cyborg just start without me!" She then turns to Raven with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, you probably have better things to do than take care of me, I'll just write up a list and give it to Nightwing later."

"...If that's what you wish to do...Also, the pans are in the bottom left cabinet."

* * *

Dinner had been...chaotic, at least for Blake. It seems like Cyborg and Changeling shout at each other about most things; video games, movies, and food choices. Blake couldn't help but compare their behaviors to how siblings fought. Then she had to explain to Changeling, after he tried to offer her some tofu, that her diet was almost purely meat, which pleased Cyborg to no ends, and upset Changeling. Starfire ate odd pairings of food, or just something straight up alien and unknown to Blake; she was pretty sure Starfire's meal of some kind of blue mold had been moving and trying to escape. Nightwing was...well, boring to be honest. Raven didn't eat at all, and Blake was a bit worried since she hadn't seen the young woman eat anything all day.

Blake sighs and shakes her head a bit, coming out of her buzzing thoughts and taking in the room she would be staying in for the next two months. It was nice; plain white walls and soft carpet, a queen size bed that would barely fit her height, just a normal guest room. Blake throws her backpack on the floor at the foot of the bed and walks over to the wall made of glass. The sun was close to disappearing into the water of the bay, making the bay appear as if it was full of glimmering rubies and amber. Blake runs her gaze around the glass, and her eyes lit up when she catches sight of a small latch; she carefully undoes the latch and Blake pushes open a small square of the glass wall.

The cries of seagulls and the smell of the bay rush into the room. Blake's eyes flutter shut as she takes a deep breath and soak in the warm breeze. Maybe, just maybe, she could find peace in this room, with these people, and maybe it won't be just wishful thinking this time around. She turns away from the glass and makes her way to the bathroom, a cold shower sounded lovely right about now.

* * *

Victor hums as he walks down the hallway making his way to Blake's room. He thought it would be nice to wake up the new girl himself for breakfast, and maybe even talk with her a little; Garfield and Kori were the most excited about their guest so they had taken up most of her time. Her room was the last door on the right, the name plate next to the door is blank, but maybe not for much longer; he knocks his knuckles against the door, metal tapping against metal. A soft voice invites him in.

When Victor opened the door he wasn't sure what he had expected, but this was definitely not it. Blake sat on the floor by the glass wall, hand feeding a couple of birds some seeds, inside her room; they were mainly seagulls, but a crow sat within the small opening of the glass wall. Blake glances his way, her smile grows wider.

"Good morning, Cyborg, you need something?" Blake closes her hand around the seeds, causing the seagulls to cry at her in outrage.

"Uh, no, just came to get you for breakfast."

Blake coos at the birds, and after a few minutes of chirps from both the birds and Blake, the birds take off one by one and out of the small opening until only the crow was left. Blake stands up and walks up to the crow, she opens her palm and the crow takes a few seeds before it too leaves. She closes the opening and latches it shut.

"Sorry about that, I was making new friends." She walks over to her backpack and dumps the seeds into a side pocket.

"You uh, you have a lot of bird friends?"

Blake finally looks toward Victor and meets his gaze. "Not really, seagulls will do just about anything for food, only Midnight is my buddy."

Victor raises a brow. "I'm guessing Midnight is the crow."

"Yup, he injured his wing awhile back, took care of him until it was healed up, and ever since then he kind of just follows me around. You guys will probably see him around." Blake walks up to him, and Victor finds himself having to tilt his head back to keep eye-contact. "So, what's for breakfast?"

Victor smiles and he moves out of the doorway. "A little bit of everything; bacon, waffles, scrambled eggs, sausages, you name it, I made it."

They start to make their way down the hallway, Blake just a few steps behind Victor. "Sounds good, and a bit much; you sure everyone it gonna eat that? Changeling doesn't eat meat, Nightwing is...human, Starfire...actually Starfire probably eats anything, and Raven...does Raven eat?"

Victor's eyes widen a bit as Blake talked, it seems Blake has a sharp eye for detail, or at least likes to watch people. "Rae eats, don't worry that girl can't resist waffles."

"Oh, good, I was worried when I noticed she hadn't eaten since picking me up from the station."

"You got an eye for detail."

"Yeah...can't help it, I guess," she sounds sheepish, "always been good at noticing the small things."

"That's great, that's useful in our line of work."

They walk into the common room, and are greeted by the smell of varient breakfast foods. Blake now walks beside Victor as they head toward the kitchen/dining area. Raven and Richard were already there of course, they had been awake way before Victor even got up. Robin looks like he had finished eating, now just enjoying a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper; Raven, well, she had no plate in front of her, but most of the waffles were gone so Victor guessed she was done too.

"Go ahead and dig in Blake, what do you want to drink?" Victor asks as he walks over to the counter to grab a mug for Blake.

"Oh, you don't hav-"

"Ah, ah, sit down and start chowing, I won't tell you a third time." Blake blinks a couple time, but she picks the seat next to Raven and sits down. "Good, now what do you want to drink?"

"Uh, tea, thank you."

Victor spares a glance toward Raven; she gives him a nod and he grins widely. "Alright, Rae has a few to choose from, what do you like?"

Blake starts to fill her plate, sticking mainly to bacon and sausage but she does grab a waffle. "Mint, please." With her plate full she sits down again, giving a quick "good morning," to Raven.

Richard folds up his newspaper. "Morning Blake, did you sleep well?"

"Uh, yeah, it was far more comfortable than a park bench," Blake grins slightly.

"That's good to hear, I'd prefer you being sore from training and not from a lumpy mattress."

Blake had been lifting a forkful of eggs, but pauses. "Wait, training?"

Richard nods. "That's right, I was hopping we could see and test out your powers today, you said you're a shape-shifter like Changeling."

Blake tenses up, and Raven almost leans away from Blake as a blast of anxiety hits her. "Right, about my powers...I don't like using them when I don't have to. I'm pretty strong and fast without them so...can I please not use them?"

All three Titans share a look between each other before they all look to Blake.

"Uh, well, I guess we can just do some hand-to-hand combat today, see what you know and what we can improve on. However, Blake, if you're gonna work with us we need to see you use your powers, get a feeling as to how you use them. We have to be prepare if you ever use them in a fight so we don't get in your way."

Blake looks down, her mood darkening like a rain cloud, but Raven feels her acceptance. "I understand, I'll...I'll do it, but please just give me some time to settle in first."

Richard nods. "Of course, in the meantime we'll show you the ropes, explain what'll be expected of you while out in the field; and we'll be having you shadow one of us for a few patrols until you feel ready to do them on your own."

The sound of a door opening makes everyone glance toward the other side of the common room; Kori floats in dragging a half-asleep Garfield by the wrist. "Good morning friends! Friend Blake, are you excited for the testing of your abilities today?"

"Slight change of plans, Star," Victor speaks up, he comes over to Blake and places a mug full of steaming tea by her plate. "We're gonna go easy on the new girl, show her some basic hand-to-hand, and give her the one-oh-one on superheroing."

Kori nods, her bright smile never fading. "A wise decision, it is best we prepare her before trouble arises in the city." Kori floats over and sits down across from Raven, she grabs herself two plates and starts to fill them with everything.

Garfield grumbles as he shuffles into the kitchen and over to the fridge to make his own breakfast. "So when does she get her own suit and name?" He asks through a loud yawn.

"That's a good point," Richard sighs, "we'll have to-"

"I already have a suit."

The entire kitchen goes quiet as everyone turns to stare at Blake, who tries to ignore the eyes on her as she eats.

Garfield closes the fridge and walks over to the table. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right; you already have a suit?"

Blake glances up from her plate, her chewing coming to a slow stop, she shallows and nods before speaking. "Uh, yeah."

"Dude, why haven't you put it on then?!"

Blake shrugs. "I don't know, didn't think it would be that important."

"Why do you have one already?" Richards asks with a frown.

Blake bows her head, shrinking in on herself a little. Raven surprises the rest by placing a hand on Blake's shoulder and leaning close to whisper to her. Blake smiles slightly, taking comfort in whatever was said to her. Richard's brow furrows and he tries to speak, but Raven stops him with a sharp stare.

"She doesn't need to answer that," Raven removes her hand, keeping her eyes on Richard.

Raven feels Richard's frustration building, and she readies herself to deal with it. The alarms go off startling everyone from the tension in the room. Richard spares one last glance at Raven that simply said 'this isn't over' before sprinting over to the computers to turn off the alarm and check the alert.

"It's the H.I.V.E., they're at Jump City Bank."

"Friend Nightwing, what about Friend Blake? Surly we are not bring her onto a mission so early." Kori floats up to Richard, concern clearly showing on her face.

Richard sighs as he glances over his shoulder at Blake. "...We have no choice, we promised Captain Anderson she would join our missions right away, even if she's not ready."

Kori's pure green eyes flare up, and she looks ready to start a fight, but Blake quickly jumps in. "That's alright! You guys go ahead, I'll get my suit on and join you there."

"Join us? How are you getting there?!" Garfield asks.

Blake grins a little. "I'm pretty fast, trust me."

"We have no time to argue about this," Richard cuts in, "Blake, get suited up and meet us there. Titans, let's go!"


	2. Getting to Know The Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jinx meets the new, unnamed masked hero of the Titans, and she finds herself growing curious once again for another dark Titan. Blake shows the Titans her powers.

Jinx knew the moment the Titans arrived-well, she knew when one certain member arrived. There's always a general change to the space that everyone picks up on; the lights flicker and dim, the temperature drops a few degrees, and a sense of danger that sends shivers down the spine and the body breaks out into a cold sweat. Jinx can feel more than just that. A spike of otherworldly magic-dark and cold and consuming, her tongue going numb with the taste of the void. If she closes her eyes Jinx can almost see an entirely different world, one where the sky is always dark and full of blood red stars.

Jinx whips around, her sharp canines bared with a feral grin. Pink sparks crackle along her forearms and hands, a few jumping from her skin and popping loudly like a firecracker. Her eyes wildly search about the shadows of the room, looking for the darkest one; she wants-no-_needs_ to see the dark sorceress. Once upon a time her curiosity had been of an innocent interest, just simply wanting to know who Raven was, but slowly it matured into something softer, something dangerous.

"Boss, up!"

Jinx's eyes dart toward the ceiling where she spots a dark pool growing. It slips from the ceiling and by the time the dark mass hits the floor it has shifted and changed into a dark blue cloak, familiar to every supervillain in the room. The cloak rises up from the floor, and Raven tilts up her head, only a void under the hood where the face should be.

The Titans have gotten bolder in recent years. Dropping the Teen from their name was letting the whole world know they weren't kids no more; and they proved that a few ways. They're always now at big festivals or parades; they shocked the entire city by showing up to the Pride last year, decked out in the colors and flags of different sexual orientations. They're encouraging meta-humans of the city to stand up and fight for their rights, to go after jobs in the government; to show humans not all of them are superheroes or supervillains, that they are people wanting simple lives. They're appearing on TV being interviewed by talk shows' hosts. They're showing the world they're more than superheroes-they're people too.

However, Jinx thinks their boldest move yet is that they've let Raven off her leash. Nowadays the dark Titan is usually the first one to show up, and she usually finishes the fights before the others get there. It has scared a few of the supervillains, Raven displaying her powers and no longer holding back; Jinx relishes in it though.

Jinx grins widely as she stares up into the void. "Hey there, birdie, how're you doing? You're looking good."

Raven tilts her head slightly to the side. "Hostages, really?"

Jinx's grin quickly turns into a frown. Multiple Billies were standing over crowding workers of the bank. It hadn't really been Jinx's idea, but Gizmo had made a point, they were really hurting for some cash so they had to make sure the Titans didn't try to fight them.

Jinx shrugs her shoulders. "Sorry, birdie, but we're not really looking to fight today."

"Oh? That's a first. You've always been so...eager, to get your hands on me."

Jinx feels heat flood her cheeks, but her grin returns full force. "Ooo! Are you flirting with me, Rae? That's a first for you!"

Raven hums lowly, her head turning-tracking something behind Jinx. "Not so fast." Raven's hand shoots out from under her cloak, encased in darkness, and Jinx hears a yelp from behind her.

Jinx glances over her shoulder, and she rolls her eyes seeing See-More hovering in the air, his body covered in Raven's black magic. "Put him down, Raven, we don't want one of these civilians getting hurt, now do we?" Jinx flicks a pink spark towards one of the workers, it pops loudly making both the man and Billy to jump.

The glowing white eyes narrow, but they fade and so does the darkness around Raven's hand. A thud and another yelp behind her tells Jinx her teammate has been released. "I see. I've never taken you for a coward, Jinx."

Jinx's grin twists into a snarl, baring her sharp canines with a low hiss. "Oh, you just wait, once I get my hands on-"

"Jinx!"

She whips around, now glaring at Gizmo, who was glaring right back at her. "Save the foreplay for the bedroom, we're almost done here."

Jinx huffs, she turns back toward Raven, her grin slowly returning. "Sorry I can't stay for much longer to play, Rae, but it's been real nice seeing ya."

Raven's fist clenches tightly. "You're going no wheres."

"Says who? I have the upper-"

Before she can finish her sentence, the doors to the bank burst open with a strong breeze. Jinx catches flashes of black, her eyes and brain barely keeping up with what's happening. The Billies that had been watching over their hostages are reduced to one in a few seconds, and their hostages quickly disappear into thin air one by one.

"See-More! Track whoever that is!" Jinx growls as her eyes glow.

"I'm trying Bo-UGH!"

See-More flies right pass Jinx, hitting the ground and sliding a few feet before his unconscious body comes to a stop just at the building's doors. A figure suddenly appears at Raven's side, and Jinx's jaw drops. They're at least eight feet tall with a large, muscular built similar to Mammoth. The suit they're wearing is form fitting and sleeveless, mainly black with a gold diamond on both sides of the torso; a black mask covers the entire head and glowing, gold lenses hides their eyes.

"The civilians are safe outside, the rest of the team?" Their voice is practically a growl, and Jinx feels a shiver go down her spine.

Raven looks down at the person. "They should be here soon, can you keep the rest of the H.I.V.E. busy until they do?"

The masked hero cracks their knuckles. "Yeah."

Jinx shouts over her shoulder. "Mammoth! Gizmo! Take care of this nobody, I've got Raven!"

"I can't believe the Titans got themselves a new loser," Gizmo cackles as he steps up with his robotic spider legs. "The hell are your powers anyways, are you just another stupid speed freak? Lame."

Mammoth comes lumbering out of the vault, dropping a few duffle bags by it; his eyes widen a bit when he sees the masked hero beside Raven. "Whoa, they look like me a bit."

Gizmo rubs his chin. "Hm, you're right, but I don't think they're strong like you, Mam, they took out Billy and See-More in a second."

"Then this should be easy, the fast ones can't take a hit."

The masked hero starts walking toward them. "Mammoth, huh...Let's see if you're actually as strong as your namesake."

Mammoth charges at the masked hero while Jinx goes for her own hooded hero. Jinx swings out her arm, a wave of crackling, pink energy is sent flying toward Raven. A dark shield springs up and the pink magic hits harmlessly against it. The shield drops and Raven sends her own bolts of dark energy toward Jinx; but the lithe witch dodges them with ease. Jinx makes the move to launch herself at Raven, but a body suddenly moving in front of her causes her to come to a complete stop.

Mammoth yells up at the masked face of his opponent, but they were unmoved by his fury. Mammoth swings a wild right hook, but the masked hero is quick and dodges out of the way. They block Mammoth's next punch, they push his arm away and deliver a quick left jab. Jinx cringes slightly at the solid slapping sound of this masked hero's large fist meeting Mammoth's jaw. Mammoth stumbles back a bit, but it's the opening that Gizmo needed to finally attack the masked hero.

"Eat this, snot-brain!" The masked hero looks toward Gizmo to see a few missiles launch from his backpack and come racing toward them. The missiles hit their target and Gizmo cackles. "The idiot didn't even try to dodge!"

Jinx frowns, her eyes narrowing as her heighten sight catches a flicker of black through the smoke. She back flips just in time to dodge a large fist slamming down onto the spot where she had been. The smoke clears to reveal the masked hero, untouched by Gizmo's attack.

"What?! But they just stood there!"

The masked hero looks over their shoulder at Raven. "Thanks for the cover."

Raven nods. "Can you handle Jinx?"

"Yeah."

Jinx dodges another punch as the masked hero throws themselves at her. Jinx curses lowly as the masked hero keeps up an offensive onslaught, keeping her on a defensive retreat. Jinx cartwheels to the side, and as her hands touch the floor pink, thin lines race along the floor toward the masked hero; the floor under their feet shatters like glass. The masked hero grunts as they jump back, sharp pieces of the title floor sticking out from their calves.

"I've never seen magic like that before," the masked hero growls. They reach down and pull the pieces from their legs.

Jinx grins, but it quickly fades as she watches the cuts both in the masked hero's legs and suit slowly close up. "Oh come on, you can heal _and_ have a suit that can repair itself!! What can't you do?!"

"A lot of stuff."

The masked hero leaps over the hole in the floor and rushes at Jinx. The thief ducks under the masked hero's arm as they swing a heavy right hook. Jinx delivers a few quick jabs to the masked hero's side, but they don't seem to affect the hulking brute at all. Jinx spins around to the masked hero's other side as they try to grab Jinx.

"So, you got a name?" Jinx asks as she aims a knee for their kidney.

They block it and try to bring an elbow down on top of Jinx's head. "Not yet."

Jinx steps to the side, she grabs onto their bicep and use it to swing herself up onto the masked hero's shoulders. "Really? You got the suit, but not the name?"

"Didn't have time to think of something." They grab onto Jinx's ankle, pull her from their shoulders, and throw her.

Jinx quickly rights herself mid-air and lands a few feet away crouched down; she slowly stands up and walks toward the masked hero. "Maybe I can give you a few ideas, like...oh! How about Mary Sue?"

The masked hero lets out a bark of a laugh. "I'm tough, but I'm not unstoppable." They charge at Jinx.

Jinx stomps her foot against the floor, pink sparks jumping up with an unnaturally loud cracking sound. "You're right. The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

Jinx moves to the side just as the masked hero is about to slam into her; however, the masked hero surprises Jinx by showing off a shocking level of dexterity for a person their size. They roll to the side with Jinx, just avoiding the weaken floor Jinx had been standing on; they pop up from their roll to stand in front of Jinx.

"You're good," they say, a smile in their voice.

"You too," Jinx grins.

Jinx tenses and prepares to dodge the masked hero's next attack. A red beam of light flies pass Jinx's head and hits the masked hero right in the face, causing them to stumble and fall flat on their back with a grunt of pain. Jinx whips around, See-more stood a few feet away, supporting Billy with one shoulder and a duffle bag on the other.

"Boss! Let's go! Mammoth and Gizmo can't keep the witch busy forever, and the rest of the Titans could-!"

Before he can finish, the doors to the bank burst open once again, and there in the doorway the rest of the Titans stood. Nightwing raises an eyebrow at the sight before him, but he simply shakes his head and points forward.

"Titans, go!"

Jinx whistles. "H.I.V.E.! Time to hit the road!"

Gizmo reaches into his back pocket, taking out a few metallic disks, and he throws them at the Titans before running off after See-more and Billy. Cyborg stops to blast a few out of the air, Starfire just raises up her arms and lets the bomb slam against her tough skin, and Changeling dodges them by shifting into a hummingbird.

Mammoth races pass, throwing any furniture that isn't nailed down at the Titans as he goes. Raven jumps in front of her teammates, raising up a shield to block the incoming furniture.

Jinx vaults over a counter, running after her team toward the back door, but she risks a glance over her shoulder. The masked hero gets up onto their feet, they look up and a bright, gold eye finds Jinx's stare immediately, but the eye disappears as the gold lens of their mask quickly repairs itself. Jinx looks away, sure that the racing of her heart is from all the adrenaline.

Nightwing curses softly. "Starfire, Changeling!"

Starfire flies off after the H.I.V.E. with Changeling right behind her in the form of a green falcon. Nightwing raises an eyebrow noticing Raven floating over and landing silently beside Blake. He moves over to them, Cyborg following him.

"Bl...uh, are you alright? You were on the ground when we showed up." He eyes her suit, noting no rips or tears in the fabric.

Blake rolls her shoulders a bit, tilting her head from side to side and getting a few pops from her neck. "I'm alright, took a few hits but nothing I couldn't handle."

Raven hums lowly. "She took on Mammoth by herself, and then Jinx as I tried to take down Gizmo and Mammoth."

Cyborg's eyes widen a bit. "Really?! You took the big guy all on your own? You sure you don't have super strength?"

Blake chuckles softly. "I'm quite sure."

"So you didn't use your powers once during the fight?" Nightwing asks, his arms crossed.

"No, I used them to get here before you all, and to get the hostages out."

Nightwing's brow furrows. "The civilians said _something_ got them out of the bank, but they didn't know what; one moment they were in the building, the next they were sitting outside on the sidewalk. That sounds a lot like super speed rather than shape-shifting."

Blake sighs. "My powers are...complex. I'll explain, but not here."

Nightwing huffs, but he nods as he pulls out his communicator and heads for the exit. "Starfire, report."

A moment goes by before Starfire appears on the small screen. "Changeling and I were successful in capturing See-more and Billy Numerous, sadly Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo have escaped."

"That's fine, good job Starfire, bring them back the police will be arriving shortly. Nightwing out." He closes his communicator.

Blake walks a little bit away from Nightwing, sitting down on the sidewalk; she does her best to ignore the nearby civilians that were openly staring at her. She startles when she notices a shadow standing by her, she looks up into the void of Raven's hood. "Oh, hey Raven, you need something?"

Raven shakes her head. "You did well today."

Blake brings up a hand and rubs at the back of her head. "Th-thanks, I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up with you guys."

"Really? With the way you've fought I'd thought you had experience doing this before."

"No," Blake looks away, bowing her chin down toward her chest, "just fast reflexes."

Raven easily picks up on the lie, but she leaves it be for now. "Are you alright? Nightwing didn't see you take a laser beam to the face."

A soft chuckles rumbles up from Blake's chest. "I'm okay, my mask took the brunt of the hit."

"Still, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to make sure."

Blake glances up at Raven. "Oh, no, really I'm fine," she said softly, "my healing factor has already taken care of any injures that I took during the fight."

Raven hums lowly as she nods slightly. "Well, it's good to know I have one less person to worry about getting injured in battle."

"Oh yeah," Blake chuckles, "I bet you don't have an easy time when three of your teammates can get hurt pretty easily."

Raven looks up as she takes notice of the sound of wailing sirens in the distant. "You probably should go." Feeling the sting of confusion and hurt, Raven quickly explains. "The news will most likely be showing up with the police; I figured you would not enjoy dealing with them on your first day."

"Oh, oh yeah I really don't wanna do that." Blake stands up from the curb. "Uh, I guess I'll see you guys back at the Tower?"

Raven nods. "Would you like me to teleport you back?"

Blake shakes her head as she goes into an alleyway. "Nah, just make sure no one is watching."

Raven tiltes her head slightly, but she does as Blake said and looks around to make sure no citizens, nor her teammates had noticed Blake ducking into the alleyway. Raven glances back toward Blake, and she blinks a few times realizing that the large woman was simply...gone. Raven stands there for a moment just staring at where Blake had been not a few seconds ago; she turns and walks toward Nightwing. She would never admit it, but Raven is as eager as her teammates to know and understand Blake's powers, especially after seeing Blake in battle.

* * *

Raven's soul-self peels away and drops her corporeal form into the common room; the moment her feet touch the floor she finds herself rushed by a wave of anxiety. The emotion fills her, laying thickly upon her tongue with a sweet taste; and a part of her purrs in delight. It's an emotion she can't help but take pleasure from as a half-demon, yet at the same time she felt a stone in her stomach that made her queasy. A blessing from her human half.

Raven looks toward the source of the roaring emotion and sees Blake standing at the windows, restlessly pacing back and forth. Her mask is gone and she keeps running her hands through her hair, grabbing and tugging it slightly every once and while. Even though it's only been two days, Raven gets the sense that anxiety is a close friend to Blake. It follows her about like a shadow. Blake does have moments where it fades for a bit, but it's like Blake then remembers something and the emotion comes back full force. Raven wonders what makes this woman, who is so strong and tough, so scared?

"Blake?"

She jumps-hard-her shoulders raising up to her ears; and then she chuckles, soft and weak. "Sorry I...I was caught up all in my head..." Blake trails off for a moment. She had come to a stop in her pacing, her back facing Raven. "...You all are engraved into this place; your scents, your presence...It feels like a home." Blake slowly turns around, a fragile smile on her face. "Uh, sorry, I'm being weird."

Raven drifts over and takes a seat on the couch, she pats the spot next to her. "You say sorry a lot."

"Uh, do I? Huh, guess I've never noticed," Blake mumbles, she comes over and sits down, making sure there's a foot between Raven and her.

"It's common with people who worry about upsetting others with their actions or words."

Blake hunches over a bit, embarrassment leaving a faint taste of coconut in Raven's mouth. "Yeah...yeah, that sounds about right." Blake sighs, but then turns to Raven with a slight grin. "Did you study to become a psychiatrist before deciding being a superhero was more your thing?"

Raven couldn't really help the small chuckle that fell from her lips, but she's glad that the sound of it seems to brighten Blake's mood. "No, I'm just very in tune with other peoples' emotions."

"Ah, I can kind of do the same-well, for me it's more like how an animal can sense if you're nervous or scared."

"No, I meant I'm an empath."

"An empath?" Blake tilts her head, her brows furrowed.

"It means I can actually feel your emotions, I can even tell when someone is lying."

There's a moment of silence as dread and panic washes over Blake like ice water, chilling her right down to her core. "...Oh."

They sit there silently, Blake's emotions buzzing loudly, but Raven can't make any real sense of them; she could only pick up Blake's anxiety and discomfort, the rest is white noise. However, they didn't have to suffer for long, Raven picks up the presences of her family arriving back in the Tower. She rises up from the couch, catching Blake's attention for a moment-the buzzing softens, and then comes back full force as her gaze darts away. It takes a few minutes before Starfire comes flying into the common room, right over to Blake, excitement and joy radiating off of her like heat and light from the sun.

"Friend Blake! I believe congratulions are in order for your very first mission!"

Blake smiles, but it's one of confusion. "Thank you? But uh, I didn't stop them?"

"Oh! That is quite alright, sometimes we do not get all of them, especially those of the H.I.V.E." Starfire lands upon her feet, and Blake's eyes widen a bit; she knew Starfire was tall, but she hadn't realized that the alien was close to her height, just coming under her chin. "Jinx and her team are tough, but we were lucky in getting at least See-more and Billy Numerous, that is a success to us."

"Uh, yeah, I guess, just wish I did better..."

Starfire places her hands on Blake's shoulders, smiling softly at her. "You did wonderful, you made sure no hostages were harmed, and you were able to handle the H.I.V.E. with only one other team member with you. Please, do not, as you humans say, sell yourself short."

"Starfire is right," Cyborg said as he walks in, Nightwing and Changeling right behind him, "I got a chance to review the security cameras footage, and I've gotta say, you got some moves! You made Mammoth your punching bag and Jinx had trouble putting a scratch on you, which is saying a lot considering her powers."

"Speaking of powers," Nightwing speaks up, his arms crossed, "care to explain?"

Starfire frowns, her eyes flaring with green light. "Nightwing-"

"It's okay!" Blake quickly says, a soft, tired smile on her face. "I...I hoped I could stall and not tell you guys until my two months were up, but I guess it's best for you guys to know what I am."

"Oh man, this is sounding real heavy, dude," Changeling mutters, which earned him a slap to the back of the head from Cyborg. "OW! Dude! What was that for?!"

"Shut up and go sit down."

Changeling grumbles, but nonetheless hops over the back of the couch and lands on it with a slight bounce. Starfire and Cyborg also take a seat on the couch. Nightwing almost stays standing, until Starfire gives him a pointed stare; he takes a seat next to Changeling, as far away from Starfire as possible. Raven floats over and sits on the other side of Starfire, and places a calming hand on Starfire's shoulder. Blake stands in front of all of them, rubbing her hands against her thighs.

"Okay, okay, okay...uh, where do I start?" Blake mumbles to herself.

"How about you start with today?" Cyborg offers with a gentle smile. "How did you save the civilians?"

Blake's hands still. "That...that was one of my forms, one of the creatures I can turn into." She takes a deep breath, and slowly exhales. "The creatures I turn into...My shape-shifting isn't like Changeling's at all. I can't change into every single creature in the world like he can."

Nightwing nods. "Alright, what are these creatures exactly?"

"I don't know, I've come to understand them as different forms with different capabilities." Blake starts to pace in front of them. "I have a total of seven forms that I have mastered, but I know there are more, they're just...locked away? I don't know, it's hard to explain, but it's this feeling I have-like I have room to stretch and grow."

"So one of these forms, it made you have super speed?" Nightwing asks.

Blake's face scrunches up a bit, and she waves her hand in a 'so-so' gesture. "I wouldn't call it true super speed, I could never match the Flash, or even Kid Flash. The fastest I think I can go is about two hundred, so yeah, not that impressive when compared to actual speedsters."

"Dude, that is super speed!"

Blake shrugs. "I guess! I don't know...All I know is, if I had a race with Kid Flash, I would lose big time."

Nightwing clears his throat, drawing attention back to him as he speaks. "Could you show us this form?"

Blake bites her lower lip, and after a moment she nods slightly. "Yeah, yeah I can do that."

Much like Changeling, Blake shifts in an instant; one moment she's there, then in the blink of an eye, a strange creature takes her place. It stands about Blake's height, maybe a few inches taller, and its body and limbs are unnaturally skinny and long. It's covered from head to toe in gold fur that shimmers, and black spots; its eyes pure gold and slightly glowing. It looks like a cheetah, but stretched and forced into a more humanoid shape; the hands human like, but tipped with dangerous-black claws, and the legs are still that of a cheetah's hind legs, the face too had been left alone, but the teeth look to be longer and sharper. Blake's suit has reformed itself to fit the creature's odd body.

Raven frowns, she could tell it's still Blake, but...but the emotions are different, more animistic than human. The form is interesting though, and Raven finds herself studying every inch of the strange, long limb creature.

Cyborg lets out a low whistle, while Starfire gasps and almost flies up from her seat; Nightwing holds onto a stoic face, but Raven feels his intrigue.

Changeling hops up from the couch, and the movement immediately sets the creature-Blake, on edge. She drops down onto all fours, her strangely long limbs making the move and position look natural for this form. Changeling freezes up and holds up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, it's cool uh...Blake? That is still you...right?"

Blake blinks a few times, then slowly nods as she stands back up.

"Alright, cool, I just wanted to try something, that's all." Changeling said as he comes to stand beside Blake. He shifts into the same creature as Blake, and he immediately stumbles and almost falls to the floor, but Blake catches him. "Whoa! This feels weird...Huh, that-that shouldn't happen." Blake snarls lowly and guides Changeling to stand on all fours. "Oh! You're right, that's much better, thanks!"

Nightwing perks up. "Wait, you just understood what she said?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Actually, why can't you talk, Blake?" Changeling asks.

Blake shrugs, and she shifts back into her human form. "Just never been able to in my forms. I have to say, it's weird seeing someone else as me."

Changeling grins, the gesture showing off the creature's large teeth. "Cool right? Let's see what this bad boy can do!" Changeling sprints off, but stops after a few feet. "What? Wait, why am I not going super fast?"

"Uh, I don't know," Blake walks over to him, "maybe you just gotta get the feel of the form first before you can?"

Changeling shifts back, he looks up at Blake with a frown. "No, that's not how my powers work. I can use the abilities of any creature I change into, even if it's my first time changing into them."

Blake shrugs helplessly. "Then I don't know what to tell you, I barely understand my powers as it is...I've been saying I don't know a lot today."

"That's alright," Nightwing said as he stands up, "we can help you understand them while you're here with us. So, this is one of your forms; what about the rest?"

Blake sighs as she walks back to stand in front of the couch. "Well, let's call that my speed form, I have a strength form-which gives me super strength, I have an armor form that makes me practically invincible; another form for flying, one for underwater, my healing one, and a spider one."

"...A spider one?"

Blake grins slightly at Changeling. "Yeah, I can climb on walls and make webs...I don't really know why I have that one."

Nightwing crosses his arms, and smirks a little. "Well, it sounds like you have an ability for any situation, it'll be interesting to see you use them in the future, if you do that is."

Blake shrugs her shoulders. "Maybe, the creatures I turn into can be quite scary to normal, everyday people, so I think I'll only use my powers when they're necessary."

"A good point," Nightwing mumbles, "the media is gonna have a field day if someone catches video or photos of you while you're shifted."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Blake grimaces, "maybe I should've gone to jail."

Nightwing shakes his head. "Well, can't change that now, you're stuck with us." He grins as he comes up to Blake and pats her on the forearm. "You did good today, Blake, relax a little and then later I'll sit down with you to figure out who you'll be shadowing on patrols. Sound good?"

Blake nods, smiling softly. "Yeah, thank you."

* * *

Jinx sighs as she flops down onto the couch, closing her eyes as she rubs her face. She can hear the faint cursing of Mike from somewhere else in the hideout. Thudding footsteps approach her and then a large hand grabs and moves her legs, the couch groans as Baran sits down; he puts Jinx's legs on his lap.

"You okay?" He asks.

Jinx removes her hands from her face and she sees Baran holding out a beer toward her. "No thanks, and yeah, I'm fine."

Baran nods and easily downs the whole bottle in one go. "You wanna talk?"

"About what?"

"This." He turns his head and points toward the blooming bruise on his jaw.

Jinx winces a bit. "Yeah, that was a pretty good hit. You alright?"

Baran nods. "They're strong, I was cocky; I'll be ready next time."

"Glad to hear it, big guy." Jinx grins slightly.

Baran places the empty bottle on the table, there's a second beer but he leaves it be for now. "So, new Titan, two of our boys are locked up, but we got some cash; a lot of downs, and barely any ups."

Jinx sighs as she puts her arms behind her head. "I'm not worried about busting Seymour and William out, that's my specialty."

"New Titan then?"

Jinx nods. "They're new to the Titans, but this isn't the first time they've done this." She taps the heel of her boot against Baran's thigh, a silent request. "They fought like they've been doing it for years."

Baran hums as he starts to take off Jinx's boots. "Felt like it too."

Jinx snorts, a grin stretching out wide across her face. "Makes you wonder where the Titans picked them up, I mean, they didn't have a fucking name!"

Baran chuckles, placing one of Jinx's boots on the floor-she wiggles her stocking covered toes at him. "What would their name be anyways?"

"I don't know, something stupid probably," Jinx said.

Jinx reaches out and grabs the TV remote, while Baran takes off her other boot and puts it down to join its twin. She immediately starts flipping through the channels. "Anyways, I'll wait about a week before popping over and busting Seymour and William out, the money should be cycled out by then which means paying bills-"

"Ugh."

"Same, big guy," Jinx pokes Baran in the stomach with her foot, "hopefully we'll have leftover cash, but if we don't I'll go do some solo stuff."

Baran frowns a bit. "You sure about that?"

Jinx looks away from the TV to point a wicked smirk at Baran. "You know I work better alone, big guy. Besides, if it's only me doing the crimes, less debt for my boys to pay off."

Baran grunts, still frowning. "And you?"

"Eh, I'll figure out something," Jinx shrugs, turning her attention back onto the screen.

"You only know how to get into trouble, not outta of it, don't you?"

Jinx simply gives Baran a wide grin and a wink.


	3. Bestial Strength

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake truly starts her training as a Titan.

"Excited to get your butt kicked in training today?"

Blake pauses in taking a big bite out of her toast; she glances up at Changeling with a raised eyebrow. She quickly finishes taking her bite, covering her mouth with her hand as she hurries to chew and swallow. "E-excuse me? Who's kicking my butt?"

"Why me of course!" Changeling said, hopping up onto the table with a wide grin. "Not to toot my own horn, but-"

"Changeling! Get off the table!"

Changeling jumps and turns into a sparrow mid-air, he flutters over to Blake and lands on top of her head. "As I was saying, I'm pretty good at hand-to-hand combat, way better than Cyborg."

Blake smirks a little. "And only Cyborg?"

"I will admit," Cyborg waves his hand at Changeling, shooing the green sparrow off of Blake's head, "I'm not the best fighter, but I make up for it with other things, like my smarts for example, which Changeling clearly lacks."

"Hey!" Changeling changes back, landing in a crouch on a chair. "Just because I'm not genius level smart like you and Raven, doesn't mean I'm stupid!"

Cyborg smiles-soft and apologetic, he reaches over and pats Changeling's shoulder. "I know, sorry green bean, I was just teasing ya."

Blake chuckles lightly as she returns to her breakfast. Today the morning is filled with energy, almost everyone seemed excited about training today, probably because they have someone new to spar with. Blake is...on the fence. She wants to share in with Changeling's eagerness for a sparring match, wants to show off and impress the Titans; but she finds that familiar pit of dread that grows in her gut whenever she has to fight, or use her powers. She's trying her best to push pass it, but...but it feels impossible most days.

A gentle hand places itself on Blake's shoulder, and Blake can't stop herself from flinching away from it. She grimaces as she looks over to confirm her suspicions of who it is, and she wants to disappear when she finds herself staring into the void of Raven's hood. Blake doesn't understand why Raven is still kind to her. Raven knows she's lying to their faces, knows she has secrets; and yet here Raven stands, offering her comfort. Blake wants to take the offer, wants to spill her guts; but guilt rears its ugly head, screaming at her to feel shame for even thinking of burdening the Titan with her demons. So she draws back, locking away the years that haunt her every second.

"Blake? Blake, are you alright?"

Blake jolts, and she realizes she's been staring this entire time. Everyone's eyes are on her. She quickly stands up from her chair-too quickly-and it clatters loudly against the floor; she winces. "Uh, yeah I-I'm okay, I just...I think...I need to go!"

She rushes toward a door, not really paying attention to which one she picks; just as she nears the door it opens, but not for her. Blake twists to the side and slams into the wall, avoiding from ramming into Nightwing who stands in the doorway, staring at Blake with raised eyebrows in surprise. She stumbles back, tries to apologize, but there's a lump in her throat and she feels short of breath-like a pair of hands squeezing the air out of her lungs.

"...are...okay? You...good..."

Blake blinks-hard-a few times as Nightwing speaks, but she can't make out his words over the roaring in her ears. The edges of her vision are darkening, and she tries to push pass Nightwing, but she finds her footsteps clumsy and she's stumbling and tilting forward and...and...Blake's not quite sure what happened. She blinked for a second and now she's on her back, staring up into a pair of unfamiliar eyes. They're beautiful eyes; mainly a rich shade of purple, but there's barely noticeable specks of red in the purple.

"She's coming to."

Raven's voice, which meant Blake is staring into the eyes of-"...Raven?"

Blake watches in disappointment as Raven's eyes disappear into the shadow of her hood. Raven leans back and floats back up onto her feet, giving Blake the space to move and sit up. Blake holds a hand to her temple and she squints her eyes up at the Titans that surrounded her.

"Wh-what happened? Why am I on the floor?" Blake asks, making the move to get onto her feet.

Nightwing quickly stops her by placing his hand on her shoulder. "Whoa there, take it easy for a minute. You passed out and hit the floor pretty hard."

"And rammed into the wall before that." Changeling points out.

"Yeah, are you alright, Blake?" Cyborg asks.

Blake bows her head, bringing her knees up to her chest. "...No..."

The Titans share looks between each other. Starfire drifts forward, she lays a hand on Blake's upper arm. "Do you wish to lay down in your room?" She asks softly.

"...If that's okay with you guys, I'm suppose to-"

"Your health, both physical and mental, is far more important than training," Nightwing said, "rest for a few hours, we can train later this afternoon."

Blake smiles slightly. "Thank you, Nightwing."

"Allow me to help you to your room, Friend Blake," Starfire said, already helping Blake to her feet.

Nightwing waits until Blake and Starfire leave the common room before he turns to Raven; and Raven is thankful the shadow of her hood hides her eye roll. "Raven, can you tell-"

"No."

Nightwing's eyebrows raise in surprise at Raven's sharp tone. "No?"

Raven reaches up and throws back her hood, her eyes narrowed and more red than purple now. "Richard, I'm not going to spend my days telling you every little thing I feel from Blake. I get it; you want to play it safe just in case she's another Terra, but she's not."

Nightwing crosses his arm, returning Raven's glare with his own. "And how do you know that?"

"She had a panic attack right in front of us!...Why bring her onto the team in the first place if you're going to be so suspicious of her?"

"I have to agree with Rae on this one, Richard," Cyborg speaks up, "what's going on?"

Nightwing's shoulders slump and he sighs. "I...I got her file from Captain Anderson. At first everything looked in order; from Gotham, was raised in an orphanage so that explains why she has no relatives to speak of, but then I got to her medical records, which are clearly forged."

"How can you tell they're forged?" Changeling asks, perched upon Cyborg's shoulder as a spider monkey.

"Everything is just too...clean. It's no secret that the orphanages in Gotham aren't the best, so the fact she has had yearly check ups and all her shots is a surprise."

Cyborg frowns. "Okay, but that could have just been the doing of the orphanage, right?"

Nightwing shakes his head. "Too much work for a simple orphanage to do, and I don't think Blake has the skill to do it herself."

"Richard," Cyborg sighs, "if you think Blake might be working for someone then why not just kick her out?"

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer," Changeling said, jumping from Cyborg's shoulder and landing on the floor as a human once more.

Nightwing nods. "If Blake is working for someone, it's best we keep her here to keep an eye on her. That's why I want to know if she faked her panic attack-" Nightwing stops mid sentence seeing Raven is no longer in the room, "...or not."

* * *

Koriand'r knew Raven was behind her the moment she carefully closed Blake's door shut. After so many years of living with Raven it has become impossible for her to sneak up on Koriand'r, she easily picks up on the signs of Raven's magic; also the fact that she has been in Raven's body for almost an entire night probably helped too. Koriand'r grins a little at the memory, she'll tell Blake about it at some point this week.

She turns around with a bright smile. "Come to check up on Friend Blake?" Raven stinks away in an instant, and Koriand'r just barely holds back an eye roll. "You can be honest with me, Sister Raven, you know I understand your ways."

"...Sorry, I'm just...unsure why I'm being this way."

Koriand'r cuts off her flight, her feet hitting the ground with a slight thud, and she walks over to Raven and gently wraps an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, let's talk before you go see Friend Blake."

Raven makes no movement or sound of disagreement, so Koriand'r leads Raven away from Blake's room toward Raven's room knowing she'd prefer to talk there. Raven's door opens only when Raven finally reaches out and flicks her wrist, the door taken over by darkness for only a second before it slides open. Raven gestures for Koriand'r to enter first, and follows in after closing the door behind her.

The others may have found Raven's room creepy, or even scary, but Koriand'r has always found comfort in it. There's this presence, something otherworldly, yet familiar to Koriand'r in this room, engraved in everything in here. It felt like Raven, and Koriand'r wouldn't be surprised if some small part of Raven's soul did indeed reside in this room. She walks over to the bed and sits down; Raven joins without a word.

"Are you going to vent, or do I have to ask you a question to get you to talk?" Koriand'r asks, not harshly, but with a soft smile and gentle teasing.

Raven pulls down her hood, and the lights around the room seem to brighten with the action. "I don't even know where to start. By Azar, she's only been here two days and I don't know why I'm being so...protective of her."

Koriand'r giggles and wraps her arm around Raven's waist, pulling Raven into a slight hug. "That is a question you already know the answer to."

Raven frowns, she wants to say Koriand'r is wrong-that she doesn't know, but Raven has never been good at hiding away from the truth. Blake has been hurt-is still hurting, and Raven can't help reacting to it. She's trying to reach out for the wound that festers all of Blake's negative emotions, but poking a wound doesn't help to heal it.

"I think I'm making it worse," Raven mutters, curling in on herself, or at least she tries to.

"No, do not think like that," Koriand'r said, placing a hand on Raven's knee, "you are helping, Friend Blake just needs time to open up to you-to us."

Raven sighs and rests her head against Koriand'r's shoulder. "Yeah, that's going to be a bit hard since Richard decided he's suddenly suspicious of her."

"What?! For what reasons?"

"He thinks she's working for someone because her files are normal."

Koriand'r groans. "Leave Richard to me, you focus on Friend Blake, I think you have the best chance with her."

Raven glances up at Koriand'r. "You really think so?"

"You doubt yourself too much, Sister Raven. You are a good person, and an even better friend, and an amazing sister."

Raven smiles a little as she rolls her eyes. "You're too nice to me."

"It is what you deserve, you have done many things for this world, given it so much; it is time the world repays you for your kindness." Koriand'r slowly lets go of Raven. "Friend Blake is someone special, trust yourself and your instincts when it comes to her."

Raven stands up. "I'll try my best, but I'm not a miracle worker." Koriand'r raises an eyebrow at that statement, and Raven rolls her eyes again. "You know what I mean, just please take care of Richard, he thinks Blake faked her panic attack."

Koriand'r growls lowly as she jumps up into the air, her eyes glowing faintly. "For such a smart man, Richard can be very stupid."

"Don't be too rough with him."

"I promise not to break anything."

* * *

Blake sighs as she stares at herself in the mirror; she had gotten up and went to the bathroom the second Starfire closed the door. It's been awhile since she last looked at her reflection-she hated seeing the person staring back at her. The first time she saw those gold eyes she had cried for hours. Blake lightly runs her fingertips under her eyes, and for a moment she entertained the morbid thought of gorging her eyes out, but it would be for nothing, they would simply come back after a few minutes.

Blake drags her fingers down her cheeks, along her jawline to her chin, then over her lips, nose, and she stops once her fingertips meet her hairline. She slowly runs her hands through her hair, feeling the sloppily cut ends of her shaggy hair. She had taken a pair of blunt scissors to the mane that she had three years ago, and the action-the knowledge she now got to decide what she did with her body, with her hair...That was the first time in years that Blake felt like she was alive again.

She turns on the faucet, making sure the water was cold before splashing some on her face. She kept herself leaned over the sink, watching the water run. "Gabby was right," she mumbles, "I should have stayed with her."

A sudden knock not at her bedroom door, but her bathroom door draws Blake out of her thoughts. She turns off the water and glances toward the slightly ajar door, "it's open," she said softly.

Blake regrets those words the moment the door opens wide and she sees Raven standing there instead of Starfire. She tries to back away, but she's reminded that she's stuck when her heel taps against the tub. Blake sighs, far too drain emotionally to run away, so she sits on the edge of the tub.

"Blake, are you alright?" Raven asks.

Blake chuckles. "You always ask me that...No, not really."

"Sorry, I guess that was a dumb question."

"It's fine," Blake runs her hand through her hair. "Is there something you want?"

Raven seems to freeze up, and Blake notices that Raven isn't actually floating for once. "I...I was hoping we could talk, if you were willing to."

Blake drops her hand to her thigh, tapping a certain beat against her knee. This is good, even if she didn't want to-and god Blake didn't want to-it would be good to know where she stood with Raven.

She stands up. "Yeah, sure, but the bathroom is probably not the best place for this."

Raven gives a small nod and steps back. Blake walks out and over to her bed, but she doesn't sit, she gestures for Raven to. The cloaked Titan tilts her head, but comes over and takes a seat.

"Okay, so I guess this is about me lying to you guys?"

The darkness of Raven's hood seems to waver for a moment. "No, I wanted to talk about your panic attack."

Blake blinks a few times. "Oh. I thought...Uh, okay."

"I'm not too sure what happened, your mood had darken suddenly and when I had tried to see if you were alright, your emotions spiraled out of control."

Blake reaches up and rubs at the back of her neck. "Yeah, I was...I was thinking about training. I'm sure you can tell I'm not really fond of using my powers, or even just fighting. I...I don't want to lie, but it's hard for me to talk about some stuff that has happened to me, I hope you can understand that."

"I do, and I'm not going to force you into sharing things you're clearly not ready to talk about."

Blake looks to Raven with wide eyes. "Really? I mean...thank you, maybe with some more-"

Raven holds up a hand. "No, you don't need to explain anything to me. I understand wanting to keep your past to yourself, for whatever reason it might be. However, you should let Nightwing know you're not some double agent; he has your file and believes some parts of it are forged."

"Oh no," Blake groans, and she drops her face into her hands, "of course the former Robin of Batman can tell my file is forged."

"...Your file is actually forged?"

Blake sighs and nods, she brings her hands away from her face. "I can't really talk about it, but it's purely for my safety, nothing else."

Raven nods. "I'm...I'm sorry you have gone through something terrible, Blake, and I'm sorry that being here is causing you distress."

Blake shakes her head, a weak smile slowly appearing on her lips. "No, it's alright. I'm trying to get better, I've been trying to get better for awhile now, before you guys even took me in, but recovery is a long and bumpy road. I think being here is going to help me, but I also think it's going to put me in situations where I can have a panic attack like today."

"Is there any way I could help you with those?"

"I don't want you to feel like you have to do something." Blake finally sits down on the bed beside Raven. "I'm just...I'm glad you care, Raven, but I don't want to burden you with my demons."

Raven shakes her head, she slowly reaches out and lightly places her hand on Blake's knee. "Your feelings and troubles are not burdens...We all have had our own share of pain that lingers, even now, but I understand not wanting to talk about it."

Blake mutters a weak "thank you," and they sit there in silence. Blake runs her hand through her hair, but her movement stills as her fingertips brush over the back of her neck. She rubs her fingers up and down the back of her neck, her brow furrowing as she thinks.

Raven tilts her head slightly as she catches onto the sudden flow of courage running through Blake's veins. "Blake?"

"...Do you guys have a hair clipper?"

* * *

"Nightwing? Can we talk for a second?"

Richard perks up a bit suddenly hearing Blake's voice; for such a large woman she can be surprisingly quiet. He turns away from his personal computer, readying to accept her request, but his voice stills. Blake stands awkwardly in the doorway of his office, her hair has been shaved close to the scalp, but by the small smile on her lips-Richard is guessing she prefers it that way.

"Uh, yeah, come on in, take a seat."

Blake walks into the room, the door closing behind her as she goes over to the small couch he had in here. "Thanks, I won't take up too much of your time."

Richard waves off her words. "Don't worry about it, you're apart of the team, Blake, if you need to talk don't hesitate to come to me."

"Thanks, but really I just came here to clear up some things."

"Oh? About wha-"

"Raven told me." Richard's mouth immediately shuts, and Blake smirks a little. "Honestly, it was a bit dumb of me to think that you wouldn't be able to tell my files are fake."

Richard huffs out a small chuckle. "I guess so. Right to it then? Alright, so what's up with the fake files? Who are you?"

Blake rubs her hand along the top of her head. "I'm Blake Wayward, I never lied about that, and I'm sure Raven told you the same."

"...She did...But these files are fake, and I haven't found any other records of a Blake Wayward in Gotham."

Blake nods slowly. "I'm sorry let me put this differently...I'm no longer the person I was before, I'm now Blake Wayward, the other person died a long time ago."

Richard frowns, he leans forward in his chair a bit, resting his elbows on his knees. "What's your old name."

"There's no reason to bring up the dead," Blake said, "let her rest in peace, I don't wish to speak about her."

Richard's eyes narrow behind his mask. "I could just go digging into records of registered meta-humans until I find something relating to you."

Blake shrugs her shoulders. "Do what you want, but I'm warning you...Leave that girl's grieving family alone."

Richard catches the hard glint in Blake's burning eyes, and for a moment he doesn't see Blake sitting before him-he sees a man, dressed in black with ghosts clinging to his steps. He takes a minute to blink away the vision and clear his head. "...Sorry..."

"...Anyways, it's pretty clear now, but I have those files because I'm not exactly a real person."

"Right, needed a new identity."

Blake rubs at the back of her neck. "I would have told you sooner, but like I said, didn't think you'd noticed."

Richard sighs and smiles a little. "It's fine, we all keep secrets...Honestly I should be used to it at this point."

"Well, that's all I wanted to talk about." Blake stands up, "I'm sorry for all of the trouble I'm causing."

Blake starts making her way toward the door, but Richard stops her. "Do you still want to train this afternoon?"

She pauses for a moment, and then shakes her head no. "Tomorrow, I'll be ready."

* * *

Thursday morning is a little rough on Blake.

Blake finds herself slamming into a reinforced wall from a pair of green beams that came from the eyes of the queen of Tamaran. It's an attack that takes out most people that Starfire fights, but she grins seeing Blake shrug off the attack and get to her feet. The nasty burns on Blake's chest rapidly heal along with the hole in her suit. Blake sprints forward and then jumps into the air. Starfire tries to dodge to the side, but Blake grabs Starfire's ankle and drags her down out of the air. Blake roars as she slams Starfire down onto the floor, but Starfire doesn't stay down for even a second. Blake is knocked off of her feet again as Starfire launches herself off of the floor and rams into Blake's gut with her shoulder.

Nightwing hums lowly as he watches from the sidelines, Cyborg standing beside him-writing down notes and live recording the whole training session. Cyborg grimaces as Blake takes a right hook to the ribs and a sickening crack rings throughout the room, but Blake barely flinches and keeps going at Starfire as her-most likely-broken ribs heal themselves. Cyborg pauses in his note taking and glances at Nightwing.

"Should we stop the session? They've been going at it for two hours now."

Nightwing hums again, his head slightly tilted. "What are your thoughts?"

Cyborg frowns, but brings up his notes. "No joke, Blake should be dead. She's taken multiple hits that would be lethal to most humans, but the girl has thick skin. She seems to have enhanced durability, but it's nothing compared to Starfire's; it simply takes a lethal injury down to a serious one, but then her healing factor comes in and boom! It's like she was never injured in the first place."

"...What do you think would be a killing blow for her?"

"Richard, I don't know what you're thinking, but whatever it is-"

Nightwing holds up his hand. "I'm not gonna test her to her limits, so I'm trying to guess what her limits are."

Cyborg sighs, he shakes his head as he already starts to do the math. "Well, it depends. Like I said, Blake has some durability, but it can barely hold up against Starfire's attacks; if Starfire actually tried a killing blow..."

Nightwing nods. "So in her human form, Blake can take some hits, but in the end she'll most likely fall to a serious attack...Alright! That's enough!"

Blake and Starfire both come to immediate stops, their fists inches from each other's faces. They stare at each other-Blake panting and sweat dipping down her face, but Starfire hadn't broken a sweat. Starfire then grins widely and she scoops Blake up into a tight hug.

"Friend Blake! That was a most marvelous match!!"

Blake chuckles breathlessly, a sheepish smile on her lips. "Really? Because I feel like you kicked my ass."

Starfire pulls away, but not far, she keeps her hands on Blake's shoulders. "Not many people can stand up against the power of a Tamaranean, even more so with me. Honestly, the only people who could beat me in battle is a few members of the Justice League and Raven."

Blake blinks a few times, surprised at this information. "Oh, wow, uh...Gosh, I mean I knew you were tough, but holy shit."

Starfire giggles, she pats Blake on the shoulder twice before finally stepping back. Nightwing comes up to them, Cyborg trailing behind as he uploads the recording of the session to a flash drive.

"That was a good session, Blake, we got a lot from that."

"Uh, what?"

"Well, it's good to know your limitions, especially since you won't be using your powers much; it let's us know what situations you can handle," Nightwing said, crossing his arms.

Cyborg speaks up. "You're pretty on par with Changeling, and that's without the use of your powers."

Blake rubs at the back of her neck. "Uh, thanks? I guess? "

"It's a good thing," Cyborg chuckles, "it means you can take care of yourself without us worrying."

"Oh, yeah that's good to hear."

Cyborg steps up to Blake's side and pats her on the back. "Alright, that's enough for today, Blake here clearly needs to rest up and-" Cyborg is cut off by a low growl that comes from Blake's stomach, "-and to eat."

Blake smiles shyly, resting a hand against her stomach. "Sorry, I really worked up an appetite."

Cyborg laughs, "no need to say sorry, especially to me. Come on, we can get some pizza for lunch."

* * *

Friday afternoon doesn't go well.

Nightwing isn't an opponent she takes lightly, after-all he was trained by Batman, and fought against some of the most terrifying villains in the world. However, Blake has been trained to fight against opponents like him. She never had a chance against someone like Starfire, but Nightwing? Nightwing is her type of prey.

Blake blocks and dodges Nightwing's kicks and punches with ease, her enhanced speed and reflexes giving her the upper hand. He makes a move to throw a kick to her left leg, but feints and goes for the gut instead. Blake allows the kick to connect, and she grins as she grabs onto his leg. She lifts him off his feet, and then slams him down onto the floor. She plants her foot onto his chest, and she smirks down at him...And a thought comes to her.

_'You could kill him, right here, crush him under your foot like the bug he is.'_

The voice isn't her own, but a man's-disturbingly calm and sickeningly smooth-and she inhales sharply recognizing it. Blake stumbles backwards, her breathing picking up with her heart rate. She keeps backing up until her back bumps against the wall, she slides down to the floor, her hands coming up to her temples as her breathing gets faster.

Black swarms her vision, but the black quickly shifts to dark blue, and Blake doesn't realize what's happening until she sees a pair of purple eyes. Raven's hands come to rest gently over her own, and almost instantly Blake feels her breathing slow down, her heart calming. Blake lets Raven bring her hands away from her head, and they sit there in silence, Raven keeping a firm hold on Blake's hands. Blake is vaguely aware of the others gathering behind Raven, but they keep a respectful distance as Raven calms her.

Blake inhales deeply then lets out a shaky sigh, she musters up a weak smile and a soft, "thank you."

Raven shakes her head, she runs her thumbs over Blake's knuckles. "Do you want to go to your room?"

"If that's alright with-"

"You don't need Nightwing's permission," Raven cuts Blake off with a soft hiss.

"...Yes, I don't want to be here."

Raven nods before looking over her shoulder. "I'm taking Blake to her room."

Raven doesn't wait for the others to say anything. Blake shudders as Raven wraps her cloak around her, darkness consuming her senses for a moment, and then it pulls back and Blake is left a bit dazed as her body and mind try to understand what just happened. She's in her room, on her bed, and Raven is hovering at her bedside.

"...Thank you."

Raven reaches out slowly-maybe hesitatingly-and places her hand over Blake's. "Get some rest, I'm sure Starfire will be here soon enough."

Blake nods, her smile a bit stronger as she turns over her hand and softly wraps her fingers around Raven's hand; she gives it a small squeeze before letting go and pulling away. "Thank you again, Raven, I really owe you a lot."

"You owe me nothing...I'm happy to help."

"Still, if there's anything I can do for you, anything at all, please let me know."

"...I'll think about it, for now get some rest."

Blake nods and settles back against her bed, sighing as she closes her eyes. She feels Raven's magic shift and grow and then disappear entirely, the room growing warmer and brighter with her gone, and Blake frowns at that. It worries her how she already misses Raven's company.

_'You've grown soft, weak, this isn't you, my pet.'_

Blake takes a shuttering breath, her hands balling into fists. "This is me...this is me...I'm soft, weak...That's me...This is me."

* * *

The next few days Blake trains by herself, slowly falling into a routine; until it's shattered Thursday evening by an alarm.

Blake's heart leaps into her throat, the flashing red lights in the common room are not helping with her growing panic and dread. Nightwing races into the common room, coming right over to the computer to turn off the alarm and check the alert. Blake shakily puts down her mug as the others come rushing in too.

"Does it need the flashing lights?"

Nightwing glances over his shoulder at her, and frowns even more seeing the panic in her eyes. "Sorry, we'll get rid of those."

Raven places a cool hand on Blake's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze before pulling back. Changeling jumps onto the back of the sofa. "So who's up at this hour? Can't be the H.I.V.E. since they still got teammates locked up."

Nightwing quickly brings up the alert on the giant screen, showing three different locations. "It's Cinderblock, Overload, and Plasmus."

The rest of the Titans tense up, but Blake simply frowns in confusion. "Uh, okay, why did you make that sound like a bad thing?" Blake asks.

"Because these three don't work together, nor do they do things on their own. The last time they did this, they were working for a man named Slade," Nightwing said.

"Slade's gone though, so who's making these three run around?" Cyborg pipes up, crossing his arms as he studies the map up on the screen.

Nightwing sighs, "don't know, and if this is just like last time, we won't know until the mastermind shows their hand."

Cyborg nods. "What's the plan? it's gonna take most of us to deal with Plasmus."

Nightwing turns around and looks over everyone. "Right, Plasmus is our main priority so that means heavy hitters on him; Raven, Starfire, Changeling, get going." The three nod and start heading for the door. "Cyborg, you're with me to take care of Overload."

Everyone pauses as Nightwing's words actually take hold. Starfire whips around, her pure green eyes aglow. "Nightwing, you can't-"

"Blake," Nightwing ignores everyone as he meets Blake's golden gaze, "you've got Cinderblock."

Blake gulps, but she nods as she stands up. "What should I be expecting?"

"Cinderblock is big and strong, but also slow and dumb, as long as you're careful you should be fine."

Starfire flies up to Blake's side. "Nightwing, no, send me instead and let Blake go with the others to deal with Plasmus."

Nightwing shakes his head. "I'm sorry Starfire, but Plasmus is too big of a threat to send Blake at him; I believe Blake can handle Cinderblock on her own, even without the use of her powers."

"It's okay, Star." Starfire looks to Blake, and her eyes widen a bit as she watches Blake's suit crawl up around Blake's head to form her mask, the golden lens forming last. "I've got this."

"Are you sure?" Starfire asks softly.

Blake glance at Starfire, her mask peels back to reveal a smile. "If I can hold my own against you, I think I can take anyone."

"Alright everyone, we can't waste anymore time," Nightwing cuts in, "Let's go, Titans."

Blake's mask fully forms once more as she starts walking toward the door, but she halts as a hand comes to rest on her shoulder. Raven floats up beside her, squeezing her shoulder gently. No words pass between them, just a brief moment, before Raven follows Starfire and Changeling out to go toward the roof. Blake shifts into a cheetah like monster and vanishes from sight.

* * *

Blake appears downtown, human once more, standing in an alleyway and poking her head around the corner to watch her opponent. She isn't entirely sure what she had been expecting from a criminal named Cinderblock, but she totally wasn't expecting an actual living golem made from stone. Cinderblock is huge, at least fifteen feet tall, and tossing cars around like they were paper balls. Luckily it seems like most civilians got the heck out of there the moment Cinderblock showed up and started to make a mess. Blake did spot a few though; young adults, maybe even teenagers, far away enough not to be in any immediate danger, but anything could happen.

"Fuck...okay...shit, what do I do?"

She can't fight Cinderblock without using her powers; she's strong as a human, but not strong enough to punch through stone, that'll just get her a broken hand. Speed form is also out, she's too weak in that form. She could probably do damage in her armor form, but it would take too much time and if the fighting moved closer to where the civilians are hiding...That leaves her with one option.

Blake steps out from hiding, her hands shaking as she starts walking toward Cinderblock. "Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?!"

Cinderblock turns toward Blake as she picks up speed and comes running at them. She leaps into the air, and she shifts mid-air. A large fist slams into Cinderblock's head, and Cinderblock lets out a low cry as they fall backwards onto the ground.

Blake lands in her new form, and she takes a deep breath as her anxiety melts away into confidence. Blake hates using her strength form most of the time, but she can't deny that she feels safe in this form, and that she enjoys fighting in it. Which speaking of...

Blake slams her fist down onto Cinderblock's chest as they were starting to recover and get up. She grabs Cinderblock by the ankle, lifts them up, and slams them back down; the asphalte underneath them cracking and breaking apart. Blake drags Cinderblock closer and starts to rain punches down onto them; each hit driving Cinderblock further into the ground.

_'Yes...see the gifts I have given you? This strength, this power...You should be thanking me.'_

Blake's fist stops an inch from Cinderblock's chest, her large fist shaking slightly as His voice seeps into her mind.

_'You say you don't enjoy the fight, the hunt, yet here you are, helping these heroes, fighting their enemies...We both know the truth.'_

Cinderblock cries out, slamming their fist against Blake's head and sending her flying off of them. She rolls a few times, her huge body slamming into the side of a building. She hears screaming, distance and muffled.

_'You are a beast-a monster-who hungers for fighting, for blood, for death!'_

"...no..."

_'Yes...you know it's true.'_

"No..."

_'Yes! Stop denying it! Stop running away from me!'_

"NO!!"

Cinderblock stands over Blake, fist raised and ready to make her into a red mess on the ground, but instead found themselves knock off their feet as Blake launches herself up from the ground and into them. The two giants roll across the ground, wrestling each other for control of this battle. Blake roars as Cinderblock pins her and starts to slam their fist against her ribs. Blake quickly breaks the pin by headbutting Cinderblock, a loud crack and pained cry letting her know she had done some damage. Blake pushes forward, making Cinderblock stumble back and off of her. She slams her fist against their chest, knocking them onto their back.

Blake quickly flips Cinderblock onto their front, grabbing and forcing their arms behind their back and holds them there. She looks around, unsure as to what to do.

_'Can I knock them out? They're a golem, right? I'm pretty sure they can't be...Shit, I really wish the others were here.'_

Cinderblock yells as they try to break out of Blake's grasp, but Blake simply holds on tighter and presses harder against their back.

_'Guess I'll just have to wait for the others.'_

Blake sighs and looks up and around again, and then groans lowly. There were people, far away enough to not get caught up in the fight, but still close enough to record it on their phones. Blake's head falls forward, staring at Cinderblock's back and keeping her gaze there.

_'Well, I did kind of signed up for this; I just hope Gabrielle doesn't see this.'_


End file.
